RFG Advisory LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,202 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens decreased their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $6.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $273.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,202,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,598,869. The stock has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.77 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $266.48 and a 200-day moving average of $302.92.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Salesforce Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.